Racial Diversity Linked to Church Growth About 20 years ago, the largely white Garfield Memorial United Methodist Church faced a decision: Focus on people outside the church or accept the dwindling attendance within. “Folks started sensing, ‘Maybe we haven’t been a church. Maybe we have been a club,’” said the Rev. Chip Freed, the church’s lead pastor since 2004. The church was in a slump. But with a renewed focus on the Great Commission and the Great Commandment, the suburban Cleveland church decided to share God’s love outside its doors — and welcome whoever responded.
9 Ways to Correct Mission Drift in a Church Today I respond to previous posts about signs and causes of mission drift in a church. Maybe one of these ideas will help you influence your church in the right direction....
Podcast: How Should We Define the Gospel? In this episode, Greg Gilbert discusses why Christians so often struggle to clearly define a simple yet foundational concept: the gospel. He highlights the temptation we all face to subtly subtract from or add to the gospel in response to various cultural pressures; he explains why he doesn’t like or use the phrase “this or that is a gospel issue”; and he responds to the common critique that evangelicals often have an overly individualistic view of the gospel.
The Story of Barabbas Is No Mere Prisoner Swap One of the great marvels of Scripture is the way minor characters embody an entire narrative. The Bible is full of obscure individuals about whom we know little besides their names. Yet many of them, instead of shuffling on and off the stage to advance the story (like they would in Homer or Shakespeare), become living examples of the story itself.
The Narcissistic Pastor: 10 Signs That You May Be One Ancient Greek mythology offers an important lesson for anyone in ministry, or in any leadership position for that matter. As one fable goes, Narcissus was a beautiful hunter. As a boy his face looked as if it were chiseled from the purest marble. His beauty attracted others to him but he could never let anyone get close even though they tried to extend their love to him. He resisted because he had found another love. Here’s what happened in the story and the implications for someone who might have traits of a narcissistic pastor.
7 Principles of Disagreeing Well As Dr. Michael Svigel, professor of Systematic Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary, observes, “Avoiding disagreement can often rob people of this opportunity for growth and grace. I’ve known people who ‘up and leave’ a church or relationship as soon as they start to feel a little friction due to disagreements. The better approach would be to work through those disagreements, if at all possible.”
6 Sermon Myths We Need to Bust Preaching is one of the most demanding tasks required of communicators. You’re not just giving a ‘talk,’ you’re communicating the Word of God—faithfully (you trust). And you do this in front of groups of people who have more communication options and sources than at any point in human history. Not an easy task. In addition, when it comes to preaching, everyone has an opinion. As a result, preachers get more than their share of feedback. Sometimes it’s helpful. Sometimes not so much. So to wrap up my five part communication series, I thought I’d finish by busting some sermon myths.
I Feel So Unworthy. How Can I Serve Christ? One of the greatest deceptions Christians fall into is what I call “the perfection trap.” We want to serve the Lord, but we know where we fall short of His standard. We see the public hypocrisy of others and know that our lives are also messed up. Can God use broken people and imperfect individuals to accomplish His will?
A Simple Way to Speak to Jehovah’s Witnesses For the most part, Christians know that Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) are a cult and have some strange beliefs. But when they begin to talk about God and his Son, Jesus; when they ask about faith and salvation; when they use what appears to be a normal Bible; when they speak the “Christian language,” many believers don’t know how to respond. How do you share the gospel with them? Do you even need to? How can you keep from being distracted by all their secondary beliefs and caught up in ‘dead-end’ arguments?
African Bishops Not United on Church Future While many in the U.S. consider Africa a solid political bloc within The United Methodist Church, African bishops currently are not of one mind about the denomination’s future or their place in it.
Image Credit: CityWell United Methodist Church
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